UConn coach Larry Brown? It nearly happened

Hall of Famer turned down job offer in 1967

By David Borges dborges@nhregister.com @DaveBorges on Twitter

Published 8:35 pm, Saturday, January 4, 2014

Photo: AP

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

SMU head coach Larry Brown, left, talks with center Yanick Moreira (35) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Cincinnati, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/David Kohl) less

SMU head coach Larry Brown, left, talks with center Yanick Moreira (35) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Cincinnati, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/David ... more

Photo: AP

UConn coach Larry Brown? It nearly happened

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

DALLAS >> Of all the head coaching jobs Larry Brown has had over the years — and there have been 13 of them, between college basketball, the NBA and the ABA — his first one very nearly was at UConn.

Brown was Dean Smith’s assistant coach at North Carolina in 1967 when Jim Hickey, the former UNC football coach who had just taken the athletic director’s job at UConn, offered him the Husky job.

Brown, 26 at the time, politely declined.

“I was just a little bit nervous about me being that young,” he recalled on Friday morning, prior to leading his newest team, SMU, in practice. “It was my second year as a coach. Even though, playing for Coach (Frank) Maguire and Coach Smith and Mr. (Henry) Iba (in the 1964 Olympics), having an opportunity to coach your own team — coach let me coach the freshman team, even though I was involved with the varsity — I just thought maybe I was too young. So, I passed it up.”

In 1969, Dee Rowe was hired and helped lead the program back to respectability. And, of course, when Jim Calhoun took over in 1986, UConn went on to unprecedented success: three national titles, four Final Fours, etc.

For all his success – induction into the Naismith Hall of Fame, only coach to win NBA and NCAA titles – Brown doesn’t look back on what could have been had he taken the UConn job.

In fact, while Brown has few regrets at all when it comes to his coaching career, the one thing he might have done differently is stay in the college game a bit longer.

“Even though I love the pros, I wouldn’t change one of those jobs for anything, I just think I’m more of a college coach,” he said. “But I think as a pro coach now, you’re coaching college kids.

“I would’ve liked to have had the opportunity to have families come back, ex-players come back,” he continued. “That’s why I love being here now.”

In fact, Saturday’s win over UConn was a sort of homecoming for Brown. Dikembe Mutombo, who played for Brown with the 76ers, was at the game, as, of course, was Kevin Ollie, UConn’s coach who also played for Brown and with Mutombo in 2000-01. The Mustangs’ 74-65 win made it a not-so-happy reunion for Ollie with his former mentor.

“Larry’s going to do an amazing job,” Ollie said afterwards. “He’s a great coach, he’s a great motivator, he’s a perfectionist. Those guys are going to understand how to play the right way – play hard, and play with intensity. He’s a great coach, but he’s an even better person. It’s great for me to have the opportunity to spend some years with him.”